Lindsey Shapiro, PhD, science writer —

A person’s degree of exposure to multiple environmental pollutants — reflected by their presence in the blood — may be used to predict amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) risk and survival, according to new research. Greater exposure to these chemicals was associated with increased odds of an individual developing ALS,…

A man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was able to control external devices — lighting and a TV — with only his thoughts using a brain-computer interface (BCI) device, according to a recent study. Called Cortical Communication (CortiCom), the BCI system learns to predict a person’s intended action by…

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is making strategic adjustments — including cuts in its workforce — to accelerate the clinical development of NurOwn as an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) treatment. The decision follows the recent withdrawal of its regulatory application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration…

Direct measures of muscle strength were correlated with functional abilities among amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Measures of arm and hand muscle strength aligned well with functional domains related to fine motor skills (e.g., handwriting, grasping), whereas leg and foot strength were related…

Takeda has obtained an exclusive, worldwide license to AcuraStem’s investigational therapies targeting the PIKfyve enzyme, including AS-202, a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that ultimately aims to lower toxic TDP-43 protein buildup in nerve cells. While Takeda will be responsible for clinical development,…

Neuralink is recruiting participants — including people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — for the first-in-human trial of its investigational brain-computer interface, designed to enable individuals with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration initially cleared the study in May under…

Up to about 2.5 years of treatment with CNM-Au8 in an open-label extension of the HEALEY ALS platform trial significantly reduced the risk of death for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) relative to a historical placebo group of patients from previous ALS clinical trials, according to new…

Disaster preparedness, including stockpiling goods, owning and knowing how to use emergency equipment, and being aware of community resources, is lacking among amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and caregivers, a recent Japanese study suggests. While patients who needed a ventilator were generally found to be better prepared during power…

Inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome — an immune system protein complex believed to contribute to the inflammation that drives amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — alone was not sufficient to ease spinal cord inflammation in a mouse model of the disease, according to recent research. NLRP3 is overactive in ALS and…

Treatment with CNM-Au8 was found to significantly delay disease progression and prolong survival, by more than 1.5 years, among adults with early-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the RESCUE-ALS trial and its open-label extension phase. That’s according to two different statistical analyses, which overall showed that patients who…